When it comes to helping others – whether you are giving or receiving that help – there is nobody better to support you than an insider. An advocate. Someone on your team who stands up for you and speaks your opinion, or in some cases, your language. This is precisely the role of community health workers (CHWs). In this guide to the hands-on members of communities who guide and support their neighbors, we will explore exactly what a community health worker is, what makes the role unique, why it’s important, and even offer a look at the salary and job outlook of a community health worker.
What Is a Community Health Worker?
Let’s get started with laying the foundation for this critical role: precisely what is a community health worker and why should others care? To answer this, we turn to the National Institute of Health (NIH), which summarizes the position as follows:
“Community health workers (CHWs) are lay members of the community who work either for pay or as volunteers in association with the local health care system in both urban and rural environments. CHWs usually share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, and life experiences with the community members they serve. They have been identified by many titles, such as community health advisors, lay health advocates, promotoras, outreach educators, community health representatives, peer health promoters, and peer health educators.”
There are several striking points in this description from the NIH. CHWs are important, the institution argues, because they “share ethnicity, language, socioeconomic status, and life experiences with the community members they serve.” Promotoras, for example, are Hispanic or Latinx community members who serve other Hispanic or Latinx individuals. Let’s unpack CHWs a bit further below.
Why Are Community Health Workers Important?
Exemplars in Global Health elaborates on the need for community health workers. Half or more of the world’s population does not have access to critical health services, a result of geographic, economic, and social limitations. There is currently a shortage of 7.2 million health care workers these individuals would benefit from seeing (and that number is expected to increase to 18 million by 2030). Because CHWs can be trained much more quickly than doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel, they can help fill the need in primary health care services for treating this under-served and under-represented population.
What Does a Community Health Worker Do?
Now we’re going to get down to the nuts and bolts of what community health care workers do daily. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) summarizes the role into the following general responsibilities. Let’s take a look at each more closely:
- Care coordination: Community health workers are responsible for facilitating seamless communication and collaboration between individuals, communities, and various health and social service systems to ensure individuals receive the necessary care and support.
- Outreach and home visits: They conduct outreach activities, including visiting individuals in their homes to assist with navigating health care, providing information, and connecting them to relevant health care and social resources.
- Cultural resource provision: Community health workers offer culturally appropriate health and informational resources to individuals and communities, ensuring the information is tailored to the cultural and linguistic needs of the population they serve.
- Case management and resource access: They oversee and manage individual cases, assisting people in accessing essential resources such as health care services, financial assistance, and social support programs.
- Advocacy: Community health workers advocate on behalf of individuals and communities, particularly in areas like housing, food security, and other essential needs, ensuring their voices are heard and their rights are protected.
- Coaching and social support: They provide coaching and social support, which can include offering training on nutrition, providing recovery services for mental health and substance use disorders, and assisting with chronic disease management and prevention.
- Health services: Community health workers may offer basic health screenings and first aid services to address immediate health care needs within their communities.
- Community engagement: They work to increase the participation of individuals and communities in health assessments and educational programs, aiming to enhance overall health and well-being through community involvement and awareness-building.
How to Become a Community Health Worker
According to the BLS, the minimum education required for CHWs is a high school diploma, however the BLS also notes in some cases employers prefer to hire candidates with postsecondary education for certain roles. Additionally, on-the-job training will further enhance your skillset, especially as you work alongside diverse populations and learn different communication styles, advocacy, outreach, legal, and ethical issues. And, depending on which state you live in, you may also need a community health worker certificate.
What Is a Community Health Worker’s Salary?
As with all other careers, CHW salaries vary depending on the state, setting, and seniority of the role. Nevertheless, the BLS reports a median annual salary for community health workers of $46,190 per year, or $22.21 per hour, as of May 2022. The BLS further breaks down median annual salaries, including community health workers in hospitals (state, local, and private) earning $54,390. Community health workers in government (excluding education and hospitals) earn a median annual salary of $47,770. Religious, grantmaking, civic, professional, and related community health workers earn a median annual salary of $46,150, and those in ambulatory health care services earn a median annual salary of $44,230. Finally, community health workers in social assistance earn a median annual salary of $40,910.
What Is a Community Health Worker’s Growth Potential?
The job outlook for community health workers is extremely positive, with the BLS predicting 14% growth over the next decade. This is a much, much higher rate than all other occupations, which places community health workers in a special category. In 2022, total employment reported was 67,200 community health workers; and by 2032, the total employment is expected to be about 76,600. The health care field as a whole is expected to grow as well, which may be a contributing factor. Health Affairs reports: “National health spending is projected to increase at an average rate of 5.6% over the course of 2025–31, which is higher than the average rate of growth of 4.2% projected for GDP in the same period. The health share of the GDP is expected to be 19.6% in 2031.”